“See? What’d I tell ya?” Ace said, resting his arms over the back of the booth. “Told you he’d be alright by himself.”
Settling back down into her seat, Dahye nodded. “Yes, I suppose you were right after all.”
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” Both of them jumped in their seats at Annabelle’s sudden strange scream, but when they turned to her to inquire, she greeted them with a simple salute and resumed sitting quietly and patiently, as though she hadn’t just emitted a noise like an old janky printer being stuffed into a woodchipper.
Not long after, the waitress returned with the group’s orders – the usual apple pie slice for Ace, dragon chicken and fried rice for Dahye, and a plate of bacon, eggs, biscuits and gravy, and grits for Gisela.
Initially, Annabelle hadn’t planned on ordering anything, stating that, as an android, she did not require food. But Ace and Dahye (after a call with Saschia confirming that eating wouldn’t actively harm her or anything) insisted she at least eat a little bit. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” Dahye explained. “But all of us eating together is a good bonding moment. It’ll help build camaraderie after our missions.”
The android saluted. “Aye aye, admiral!”
As the other three dug into their food normally, Annabelle leaned over the table, aiming her face directly downward over the plate of fettuccine alfredo the others had ordered for her. She opened her mouth wide, and whirring machinery began to circulate through her head.
The others (even Gisela) watched, dumbfounded, as the android girl literally vacuumed the food up from the plate, the pasta rising the foot of distance into the air into her open mouth in one rapid stream.
With the food devoured in mere seconds, Annabelle saluted her companions. “Food eaten! Bond with allies strengthened!”
“Cool,” Gisela said, while Dahye sighed, albeit with an amused smile.
A few minutes into the GLYPH agents’ meal, Ace glanced out the window across the street. “Oh, hey, there’s hero boy,” he said, tapping his knuckles against the window and waving Hiroto over.
Hiroto jogged across the street and stepped into the Derring-Do Diner, wandering over to the group’s booth. He greeted the gang with a shaka and a bright smile. “Hey, guys, what’s up? Just get done with a mission or somethin’?”
“Three, actually,” Ace said. “Good work with the Pyro Punks earlier.”
“Hm? Whoa, how’d you know about that?” He asked, tilting his head in genuine confusion, like the dumb little puppy dog he was. “Wait…can you, like, read minds or somethin’?”
“You were on the news, man.”
“Oh, haha, that makes more sense!”
Dahye initially prepared to greet him, but hesitated as he stepped up to their booth. Tall, muscular, handsome…she hadn’t been expecting him to be such a looker, and ended up staring at him like a weirdo.
Gisela was the one to snap her out of her temporary trance, tugging on her sleeve. “Scoot over.”
“Oh, right,” Dahye replied, shaking her head and moving over to give Hiroto some room to sit down beside her. Clearing her throat, she turned to him and held a hand out. “Um, hi! I’m Dahye.”
“Hey! I’m Hiroto!”
She nodded and smiled. “Yeah, I-I’ve heard a lot of great things about you! It’s wonderful to finally meet you!”
“You just heard of him ten minutes ago,” Gisela muttered, scooping up some grits.
Hiroto leaned forward to look over at Gisela, then turned to Annabelle. “Oh, hey there! I don’t think I’ve met you guys yet, either, have I?”
Dahye gestured to the two girls. “Um, yes, this is Gisela and Annabelle. They’re two of our newest agents.”
“Aloha, amiko!” Annabelle saluted. Luckily a waiter passing by was quick enough to avoid her sudden kick.
“Haha, aloha!” he responded. “You Hawaiian too?”
“Robot, actually,” Ace said.
“…Huh?”
Hazird appeared again, perched on the back of the booth behind Hiroto. “He’s sayin’ the girl’s a walkin’ bucket of bolts, not a real person.”
Hiroto scowled, glancing back towards the Red Phoenix Spirit. “Hey, c’mon, man, don’t call her that.”
Ace held his hands up. “Whoa, relax, I didn’t know ‘robot’ was offensive to her.”
“Ah, nah, my bad, I wasn’t talkin’ to you, I was talkin’ to Haz!” Hiroto explained.
Gisela raised a brow in his direction. “Who?”
It was Ace who answered for him, recalling the name and explanation from before. “Ah, right. It’s some invisible bird friend he talks to.” The gamer girl did not seem especially convinced by the explanation, but resumed eating anyway.
As the Red Phoenix Spirit, Hazird was, in fact, invisible to normal people, and could not be heard by them either. Hiroto was used to coming across as a bit of a weirdo whenever he spoke with Haz, since it just looked to anyone around him that he was talking to himself nonsensically.
But at this booth, there was someone else who actually could see and hear Hazird – it was Dahye. But before she could say as much, she suddenly heard Dhara’s voice echo in her mind: “Do not reveal that you can see the Red Phoenix. And do not speak of me, either.”
Dahye was confused by the Blue Dragon Spirit’s command, but she knew better than to doubt her judgment. Dhara was a mentor figure to her, and had been an immeasurably helpful guide when it came to matters beyond ordinary day-to-day existence; she had no reason not to trust her with this matter, and kept silent on her ability to notice Hazird.
Then, the door to the backroom of the diner suddenly swung open, and a loud gasp echoed around the restaurant. “Ah! There he is! Hirotooooooo~!”
Hiroto winced, while the other GLYPH agents turned to observe. The owner of the restaurant scurried over towards their booth, nearly tripping over her heels at the speed she was moving. Fortunately, she made it over in one piece. Just barely.
“Ahhhh, I knew I smelled your wonderful cologne, hon! How have you been?! It’s been so long since you stopped by!” She squealed, leaning over and giving him the squeezingest hug she could muster.
She was Denice Darlington, the current owner of the Derring-Do Diner, having inherited the business from her father after his retirement. She was a friend of Malena’s, and the reason the GLYPH agents were offered a free meal after completing missions.
Denice was a slender woman with bleached-blonde hair, who sported one of the most nasally voices one could imagine. She’d been a small-time actress in her younger years, which was how she’d originally met Malena, and while she’d certainly aged and seemingly hadn’t picked up on many of the make-up techniques her stylists had used to doll her up back when she was a regular supporting character in a moderately popular sitcom, she was still quite pretty.
“Heh…h-hey, Ms. D,” Hiroto said, trying to be polite. He’d met her a scant few times before, but she seemed to view them as much closer friends than he did… “How are ya?”
“I’m doing lovely now that you’re here~!” she cooed, pressing her cheek up against his before planting a thick pink lipstick mark on him. “Oh, you don’t have any food! We can’t have that, now can we? What do you want, hon? I’ll get you anything you want, and I’ll even make it myself~!”
“Meugh,” Hazird groaned. “Not this broad again…” Dahye had to fight the urge not to concur with his comment, which triggered a twinge of guilt in her for thinking rudely about a lady who’d been very nice and helpful to them thus far.
“Uhhh, I’m actually not that hungry, so-” Hiroto began, although when he looked up to see Denice’s face sink into a frown, he hissed, and course-corrected. “Uh, I mean…! How ‘bout a ham-and-cheese sandwich or somethin’? Just a quick little bite before I gotta head out, haha!”
He breathed in relief as Denice’s face contorted back into a bright smile, and she spun around and hurried back to the kitchen. “Coming right up, hon~!”
“Ooh, didn’t know you and her had a thing goin’,” Ace teased.
Hiroto shook his head. “Ah, nah, it ain’t like that…I mean, she’s just, like, super friendly, I guess?”
“She’s a desperate old bag,” Gisela mumbled off to the side.
“Hey, desperate or not,” Ace began. “I’d kill to get some extra special treatment from the owner like that. The meal after a mission’s free, but getting to take home one of their pies for free too would be nice.”
Gisela glanced up at him. “Maybe start by not wearing your creepy mask inside.”
“No can do. It ain’t smart to let highly-sensitive personal identification information leak like that. At least, not in my line of work.”
“Then use one of your weird disguises or something.”
He shook his head. “Nah. When we’re here in the diner, it’s GLYPH agent bonding time, right? It’s important to be my real self with you guys, yeah?” Gisela rolled her eyes at the obvious snark in his words, but returned to finishing her food in quiet.
Clearing her throat to take control of the conversation, Dahye tapped on Hiroto’s arm. “Are you going to be in town for the next few days, Hiroto? We have a few more missions to do, and it’d be great to have you there to help. I-if you aren’t busy, I mean!”
He rubbed the back of his neck. “Ah, nah, sorry. I was only called here to help with that stuff at the hotel. I actually gotta fly outta state to go help with some other stuff, haha!”
“Ah, I understand. Well, um, hopefully we’ll be able to work together soon.”
“Yeah, for sure!” His smile had her heart fluttering for a moment.
Denice soon returned with a plate containing a ham-and-cheese sandwich (with far more fillings than the other guests at the diner who ordered that meal got…), an extra helping of fries, a basket of fresh, buttery dinner rolls, and a malted milkshake. “Here you are, hon~! Made with love~! Eat up~!”
Hiroto nervously chuckled. “Ah, whoa, this is way more than I was plannin’ to eat…” He then turned to Denice before she could react negatively. “Uh, I mean, thanks a ton, Ms. D! It looks delicious!”
As the owner excused herself with a girly little giggle, Hiroto sighed, and looked to the rest of the table. “You guys want some of this stuff? I was just gonna take the sandwich and head out.”
“Negatory, ally!” Annabelle suddenly said, making everyone else jump. “Eating together is important for strengthening bonds between GLYPH agents! You must consume your food here amongst us!”
As Ace, Dahye, and Gisela shared a little laugh over the android girl’s sudden outburst, Hiroto blinked in surprise, and quickly scooped up his sandwich. “Huh? Oh, uh, yeah, okay…”
Hiroto was already physically exhausted when he’d flown several states over to deal with the Pyro Punks after a morning spent battling monsters, and the long dinner talk with the other GLYPH agents, as well as the constant attention from Denice left him mentally drained as well.
His original plan after completing the mission Saschia had called him into town for was to immediately fly back home to Hook Haven, Hawaii, but he was far too spent by then. He’d considered going to GLYPH HQ to take a nap, but Hazird advised against it, as the Red Phoenix Spirit knew his human host would almost certainly end up getting asked to do more work if he stepped inside, and he’d also be dumb enough to accept it.
Instead, he suggested Hiroto find a cheap motel and book a room there for the night. But on his way there, Hiroto ended up intervening in a convenience store robbery, helping search for a missing pet chinchilla, and pushing a car several blocks uphill to a gas station.
It was deep into the night when Hiroto finally managed to book a room, dragging his ass up the steps to the second floor. The instant he was inside, he shut the door with his back, and sank to the ground, burying his face in his hands.
He was silent and unmoving for a long, long time.
Eventually, Hazird appeared once more, standing before him. “You didn’t have to go outta yer way to do that extra shit, moron.”
Hiroto sighed, eyes still hidden in his palms. “Fuck off, Haz.”
“Hey don’t get all pissy with me, boy scout. I ain’t the one makin’ you run around doin’ free labor for people. Nobody’s makin’ you do that.”
When Hiroto pulled his face up from his hands to stare at the Red Phoenix Spirit, the usual upbeat smile was gone, replaced with a narrow-eyed glare, and it almost seemed like the brightness in his red eyes had faded away too. It was a look Hazird had seen just a scant few times since the two had become bound together; a look that, were anyone else to ever see it, would feel…wrong to them. Like an expression they couldn’t imagine Mr. Happy-Go-Lucky Hiroto ever actually making. But to Hazird, who knew of Hiroto’s past, and how phony his new “hero of justice” persona was, it felt like a much more natural fit. “Tch…How many times have I already told your ass? We’re heroes now. Heroes help people. They make people happy, so we gotta do whatever makes people happy.”
Hazird’s eyes would be rolling had he been born with them. It was true; the pair had indeed had this conversation before, and it never really progressed beyond both of them denying the other’s stance and growing irritated. But on this night, Hazird was also exhausted; even if he hadn’t had to physically exert himself as much as Hiroto, it was still his power that Hiroto had relied on to transform, to fly across the entirety of the continental U.S., and to battle the Pyro Punks, and it certainly wore on him, too.
“Meugh… One of these days we’re gonna have to hash out this obsession of yours with ‘makin’ people happy’…” Hazird groaned, before vanishing in a wisp of red flame and smoke, leaving Hiroto to resume his weary, private moping.
And then, knocks hit the door.
“Hirotoooo? Are you awake, hon?” There was no mistaking that nasally voice. Denice.
Hiroto’s eyes went wide. What the hell?! Did she seriously follow me here?!
He pushed himself to his feet, turned around, took a deep breath, and turned the doorknob.
“Heeeeyyy, Ms. D!” he said, with a big, fake smile. “Uh, what’s up? Did you need somethin’?”
The woman nearly jumped in joy at seeing his pretty face again. “Ohh, not much! I just thought I’d stop by and see how you were doing, if that’s okay?”
Before Hiroto could say anything, she held up a plastic bag with the Derring-Do Diner logo printed on it. “I made some of my famous devil’s food cake, just for you, hon~! Oh, and I noticed you didn’t leave with your coworkers, so I thought, um…” she coiled a lock of hair around her finger. “I dunno, maybe you might be lonely in town by yourself and need some company or something?”
Hazird’s voice burrowed into his mind. “Don’t let her in. Send her ass home.”
Hiroto definitely acknowledged that Denice’s company was definitely the last thing he needed right now…
But he held the door open and stepped aside. “Hey, sure, yeah, come in!” He took the bag from her and set it down on the dresser. “Oh, man, I remember you makin’ this for us last time I was in town, I can’t wait to have some more!”
“God fuckin’ dammit, kid…”
Denice squealed in glee, bouncing up onto her toes. She’d been worried that this late-night drop-in would annoy him, but she was over the moon at the reception she was getting so far. “Ohhh, I’m so glad you like it that much, hon!”
He took her coat and hung it up in the closet for her, before leading her over to the bed, where they both took a seat beside one another. “So, uhhh…” Hiroto said. “How are your kids doin’?”
“Oh, they’re doin’ great!” Denice replied, clapping her hands together. “Drew got a scholarship for Braver U, and Dory’s boyfriend finally proposed to her! Isn’t that delightful?!”
He nodded. He didn’t give a single fuck, and didn’t even remember anything about her two kids, even though he’d asked about them a few times before out of faux politeness. But whatever. She seemed happy to talk about them, and a series of other small talk conversations that she naturally transitioned into, and that saved him the energy of having to speak too much.
“Hey, listen, Hiroto, hon…?” she said after the seventh or eighth personal life tangent she’d gone on, placing her hands on his bicep, accompanied by a sigh. “Can I be honest with you?”
His head dipped to the side. “Huh? About what?”
Denice had to fight the urge to reach over and squeeze his cheeks. That doggy head tilt always drove her wild. “About, um…” A nervous little chuckle. “About why I stopped by tonight…”
“Oh, uh, yeah, sure. Did you need somethin’?” Even the genius Hiroto, who never knew what someone was about to say, knew what she was about to say. Even if he hadn’t been in this exact situation many times before with many different women, Denice’s lust for him in particular was so palpable, he probably could have physically picked it up and fucked it without even touching her.
She bit down on her lip, eyes slowly moving from his, down the length of his body. “I, uh… I know you’re leavin’ town soon, and I don’t know when the next time I’m gonna see you is, and I was just wonderin’…”
But to his surprise, she suddenly backed away, shaking her head and standing up. “No, forget it, sorry, this is dumb.”
“Huh? Whaddaya mean?”
Another nervous laugh bubbled up from her throat as she started pacing around the tiny little motel room. “No, no, I just… I-I know you have a thing with Malena and Mrs. Lewis and that girl who works at the pet shop up the street, haha…” She gestured awkwardly at herself. “And you probably don’t want some old, boney, has-been, anyway, right? Ahaha…!”
Hiroto pushed himself up from the bed and walked over to her, taking hold of her arms. “Hey, hey, c’mon, don’t talk down to yourself like that, Ms. D! You’re gorgeous! You know that, right?”
Her heart fluttered as she looked up into his eyes. He really was a total sweetheart, wasn’t he? She was aware that she came off strong and could definitely be annoying at times, especially with handsome young men, and she’d been told off because of it many times before. Ever since she’d met Hiroto, she’d been dreading the day he’d snap at her advances and call her annoying, gross, desperate, ugly, used goods, past her prime – the usual… but that day still hadn’t come, somehow. She was sure he’d have turned her away at the door, but here he was, holding her so gently, complimenting her…
Of course, she had no idea that it was pretty much all bullshit. Hiroto did find her annoying, and while he didn’t think she was unattractive or anything like that, she wasn’t really his type. He also wasn’t in the mood to have sex with anyone tonight or even spend time with anyone in general.
But when he asked her if having sex would make her happy, and she told him yes, he did it anyway.
“Ahhh! Ahhh! Yes! Yes!” she screamed, clenching tightly to the pillow while Hiroto hammered away at her down below, her entire body drenched in sweat, and her nipples soaked in a combination of her own breast milk, and Hiroto’s saliva.
“Haha, that feel good, Ms. D?” he asked, tightening his grip on her thin little waist.
“Oh my God, YES!” came her reply. “Hiroto! Hon! You’re such a fucking stud! You’re so good to me~!” She craned her head down to look at him, and then down to where their bodies met. Her eyes nearly popped out of her head as she noticed the bulging of her tummy every time he drove his massive cock meat into her. The sight alone had her back arching as an orgasm rocked her.
With Denice’s head angled back as she rode out her orgasm, Hiroto allowed his mouth to contort into a smug grin. Even though he hadn’t wanted to sleep with her, it always stroked his ego seeing woman squealing and squirming beneath him like this – part of him felt guilty at taking so much pleasure in it, as he didn’t think a hero was supposed to enjoy it so much, but part of him reveled in it, and that part of him usually won out when it came to sex.
He didn’t even check if she was ready for more before he started pumping into her again, throwing his body over hers. He cradled her head in his arms and pressed his face against her to speak directly into her ear. “You like takin’ cock from a guy young enough to be your son, huh?”
“Yes, yes, hon, I love it so fucking much!” She nodded desperately, trying to reach over and kiss him, but he kept her head locked in place. “Hirotoooo…!”
“Heheh, you like it that much, huh?” he continued, pinching her ear between his teeth and enjoying her squealing. “I kinda like fuckin’ you too…Maybe next time I stop by your restaurant I’ll take you right there on the table, yeah? Since you’re so fuckin’ desperate for my dick!” He gave her a few harder and rougher thrusts, fueled by his irritation at her for coming to his motel room unannounced so late into the night.
Denice let out an ugly, guttural half-groan, half-gasp, eyes rolling into the back of her head as she felt another climax roll through her body. She was so caught up in the pleasure and the joy of finally getting to sleep with the young man she’d been thirsting over for so long that it wasn’t even registering in her mind the way he was talking to her.
Before she could even get her breath back, she was trying to blurt out a response, hands groping and scratching at every inch of Hiroto’s muscled back and juicy ass as she could. “Hir…Hiroto…! Oh my…! Aaangh~! Fuck me, fuck me, forever, pl-please…! Any…any time! Any p-p-place – nnnnngh~!”
He was getting close as well, and almost decided to say fuck it and pin her down and blast her womb with his cum, but he managed to calm down enough to remember who he was actually having sex with, and how bad of an idea that would probably be. He didn’t think it through or anything like that – heaven’s no, Hiroto’s “true” self might have been more aggressive and dominant in bed, but he certainly wasn’t any brighter. But he had the good instinct to pull out, taking his meaty cock into his hand.
Denice lamented not having him finish inside her, but she didn’t complain either. She just grabbed her tits and opened her mouth as wide as she could and extended her tongue.
The absolute hottest and thickest stream of cum she’d ever seen sprayed across her. Wave after wave, rope after rope of Hiroto’s delicious cum coated her from the top of her messy hair to her tummy. There was so goddamn much that she could swear she felt like a weight was on her sinking her deeper into the bed when he finally finished.
As Denice hungrily slurped up as much of the baby batter as she could, savoring every drop and squealing about how delicious it was, Hiroto sneakily climbed into the bed beside her and threw a blanket over his cock.
One of the rather…amusing superpowers he had been blessed with upon becoming the host of the Red Phoenix Spirit was that, almost immediately after cumming, the phoenix tattoo branded on his right hand would glow red, a surge of heat would course through his veins, and his erection would be reborn anew, accompanied by a new, full load of jizz in his balls. It was a power that he’d enjoyed the benefits of time and time again, but in this moment, he was not interested in prolonging the sex any further, and he knew that if Denice saw him get hard again, she’d want to do just that, even if she herself was no longer capable of moving her body much from fatigue.
No, he wanted it to be over, so he hid his second hard-on from her, playing up his fatigue and overall satisfaction with their sex. He knew she probably wasn’t going to leave, but hopefully she would pass out soon, and he could get some sleep himself.
“Hiroto, hon…” she cooed, her nasally voice now gravelly and barely-audible. She laid her head on his chest, and reached a hand out to stroke his abs. “My handsome…sweet…stud~…I’m…so…happy~…”
He didn’t have the energy to continue putting on his smiling face, though he did make sure not to slip up with his words. “Yeah, that was fun, Ms. D…We should, uh…get some sleep, okay?”
Luckily, she was way ahead of him, and he sighed in relief before dozing off himself.
